Hungarian Goulash

👨‍🍳 Method

To assemble

1. 1
   Heat the oil in a wide pot and brown the beef cubes on all sides. Remove to a plate.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveWide, shallow pot

   💡Brown the meat in batches, without crowding: in a crowded pot it stews in its own juices instead of searing.

   💡What you brown (meat, patties, schnitzel) goes into hot oil: in lukewarm oil it soaks it up and comes out greasy. For onion and garlic that you soften, oil heated over medium or low heat is enough; do not wait for it to smoke.
2. 2
   Add the onion to the oil left in the wide pot and fry for 10 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and golden.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStoveWide, shallow pot

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
4. 4
   Add the paprika, hot paprika and cumin and fry 30 seconds, until fragrant.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Paprika burns quickly and turns bitter: half a minute in the oil is enough, then move straight on to the next step.
5. 5
   Add the tomato paste and fry 1 minute, stirring.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
6. 6
   Add the wine and cook 5 minutes, until the alcohol evaporates.

   Stove

   💡Reduce the wine before the tomatoes: the harsh alcohol evaporates, leaving the concentrated flavor of the wine.
7. 7
   Add the stock and bay leaves and bring to a boil.

   Stove
8. 8
   Return the beef cubes to the pot and season with salt and black pepper.
9. 9
   Turn down to low, cover and simmer 1.5 hours, until the beef cubes soft.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
10. 10
    Add the carrot and potatoes and cook another 30 minutes, until everything is tender.

    Stove
11. 11
    Remove the bay leaves from the pot.
12. 12
    Serve hot with bread.